1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an attachment for a commonplace otoscope which enables a person to examine an eardrum and external canal of either of his ears.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Otoscopes, as employed by physicians, are generally comprised of a housing having a forward extremity that tapers to a narrow speculum adapted to insert into a patient's ear, a light source, and a rear extremity having magnification means which enable the physician to see an enlarged view of illuminated portions of the ear.
Certain ear ailments are of a persistent nature, requiring frequent viewing of the ear to ascertain the effectiveness or progress of treatment. It would be inexpedient for the patient to visit his physician every day during the course of the ailment. Accordingly, it would be prudent for the patient to achieve some level of self-monitoring observation at home.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,652 to Woods discloses a self-examination otoscope which is specially constructed so that the rear extremity of the otoscope slidably accommodates a first telescoping tube which interacts with a second telescoping tube which enables the image of the illuminated ear to be viewed by the patient. Woods' device is expensive to construct because it requires the construction of a non-standard otoscope plus specialized fittings. Also, the Woods' device does not easily permit viewing by the physician.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an otoscope device which permits the user to view the eardrum and external canal of his own ear.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an otoscope device as in the foregoing object which permits a physician or other examiner to inspect the patient's eardrum and external ear canal.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature which represents an inexpensive viewing system associated with a conventional otoscope.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.